I’m recording live (well, semi-live) while running through mossy, Jurassic Park-like trails outside Portland. Just minutes in, I round a corner and meet a man with a blood-covered hand telling me someone stabbed his dog with a switchblade. So naturally... I kept running.

Support our sponsors, janji.com, garagegrowngear.com, and Csinstant.coffee

In this chaotic on-foot monologue, I dive into the Gorge Waterfalls 100K, which just happened to be the USA Trail Team selection race for the Mountain Ultra Trail World Championships. I talk through the carnage (the race kind), recap the course records smashed by Adam Peterman, Shea Aquilano, and others, and reflect on how trail running might be entering a new competitive era.

Then, I join up with Derek Lytle post-race to break it all down: the athletes, the coverage, the waterfalls, and the fact that every race we've filmed has somehow produced course records. Coincidence? Probably. But we’re claiming it anyway.

Also... there's a very old cat named Blackberry.

Chapters

00:00 A Run Through the Unexpected

03:03 Trail Running Championships and Team USA

05:50 Gorge Waterfalls Race Recap

09:01 Record-Breaking Performances

11:56 Looking Ahead: Future Races and Competitions

Subscribe to Substack: http://freeoutside.substack.com

Support this content on patreon: HTTP://patreon.com/freeoutside

Buy my book "Free Outside" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/39LpoSF

Email me to buy a signed copy of my book, "Free Outside" at [email protected]

Keywords

trail running, Gorge Waterfalls, USA Trail Team, championships, record-breaking, running safety, outdoor adventures, race recap, competitive running, athlete insights